Method of and means for maintaining the cooling water of a marine engine at a relatively high temperature



Mar. 20, 1923. 1,448,899

METHOD 0F AND MEANS FOR MAINTAINING THE COOLING WATER 0F A MARINE ENGINE AT A RELATIVELY HIGH TEMPERATURE Filed Aug. 5, 1918 Qifen 273: M@ Dm/ Cole Patented Mar. 20, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DON COLE, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN A. DIENNER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

METHOD OF .AND MEANS FOR MAINTAINING THE COOLING WATER OF A. MARINE ENGINE AT A BELATIVELY HIGH TEMPERATURE.

Application led August 5, 1918. Serial No. 248,251.

To all feo/tom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DON COLE, a citizen of' the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have vinvented a certain new and useful Im provement in Methods of and Means for Maintaining the Cooling Water of a Marine Engine at a Relatively High Temperature, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the present specification.

My invention relates to a method of and means for maintaining the cooling water of a marine engine at a relatively high teniperature.

In cooling a marine engine of the internal combustion type the desirable result to be attained is that of keeping the cylinder walls uniformly at as high a temperature as is consistent with good lubrication. SO far as thermal efficiency alone is concerned it would be advisable to keep the cylinder walls heated to the temperature of the working fluid or higher, but this is not feasible in practice because of the difiiculties practically encountered in lubricating the cylinder walls and the moving piston.

A compromise between these two contrary requirements must be made and it is the purpose of this invention to provide means for securing and maintaining a high even temperature which will promote the efficiency of the engine and still permit of good lubrication.

Heretofore, particularl in marine engines, it has been substantially impossible to keep the c linders fairly warm and still prevent the Ormation of steam or gas pockets which have a tendency tO warp or distort the cylinder walls. It the pump is operated at such a rate as to clear out the as and steam pockets the rest of the cylin er will be cooled to too great an extent. If the pump is operated so slowly as to maintain the proper temperature of the c linderwalls, gas and steam pockets will be ormed, to the detriment of the working of the envine.

b Furthermore, in either event the cooling Of the cylinder walls is very unequal Owing to the action of the cold water entering and chilling the lower ends of the cylinders and the action Of the steam pockets and high water temperatures in the upper areas of the jacket in overheating the upper part of the cylinder walls, so that there is a decided difference of temperature between the upper and lower ends of the cylinders.

My invention aims to provide a system in which a rapid flow of the cooling medium is maintained to prevent the formation of gas and steam pockets and in which system the contact of the cold water with the cylinder walls is prevented and the cooling medium is maintained at a relatively high temperature so that the beneficial effect of uniformly hot cylinder walls may be maintained.

I secure this desirable result by maiutaining a relatively rapid flow in a closed system, adding cold water to the system at one point and discharging a certain amount of the'heated fluid at another point to maintain a substantially even temperature. When the cold water is injected into the system it is diluted immediately with a relatlvely large quantity of comparatively hot water before coming into contact with the cylinder walls, so that there is no possibility of the cylinder walls being chilled by the introduction of the cold water into the system. While I shall describe a particular embodiment Of my invention in connection with a marine engine it is to be understood that the invention may appear in automobile engines or other types of apparatus requiring even cooling or a cooling at a relatively hifrh temperature.

lily invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which the drawings illustrato one manner of practicing my invention and is a side elevation of an lnternal combustion engine equipped with a cooling system in accordance with my invention.

In said drawings l represents an internal combustion engine which is Of the marine type, the engine having cylinders 2 and a shaft 3.

The cylinders are of the water cooled type, having a water jacket 4 surrounding the cylinders and provided with a branched inlet 5 at its lower end and a branched outlet 6 at its upper end.

I provide a stadpipe o down-How pipe T to the upper end of which the outlet 6 connects and to the lower end of which the inlet 5 connects.

This system of pipes, together with the water space around the cylinders, vforms a closed system thru which I cause the cooliupy niediuxii-preferably waters-to flow at a forced speed. In other Words, l do not depend upon gravity or upon the heating:r and the cooling` of the water, but l produce a rapid flow of the water thru the system by ineens ol a circulating pump 8 which l interpose in the inlet 5. l drive this pump by power derived from the engine thru the gears E) and tt).

The pump is driven when the engine runs an: produces a constant and rapid movement ol the water thru the water jacket. This rapid tion' of the water prevents the accumulation ol Steam or air, which often aveuniulates in gravity systems`y and thus provides a Constant how ot' the cooling water over the heated surfaces of the cylinders.

lt is ohvious that it' l continue to circulate the water in the closed s vsteni without any change, the water might finally become too hot to properly cool the cylinders, consequently l provide a means for constantly adding a little cool water and removing an equal quantity of hot water, and I can regulate the quantity thus added so that l can maintain the Water and the irylinders at any desired temperature. The cold water may he supplied from a radiator or a tank it desired.

For this purpose provide a gear pump il driven hy gears 12 and 13 hy the engine, und provided with a suction pipe 14, which extends down thru the bottom ot the boat and with a delivery pipe l5 connected to the inlet pipe 5.

l also provide the system with an overl'low lo connected to the stand pipe 7 a little ahove the connection of the outlet pipe 6 therewith.

The suction pump 1l runs all the time and draws water thru the pipe i4, forcing ii" into the circulating system.

i control the quantity of Water flowing into the system from the force pump by a valve 'li' to which I connert a hypass pipe lw thru which the excess water, over what l allow to enter the system, can he drained away.

The renulatin;r valve 17 is a three-'Way valve and hy adjusting it I can admit just sullicient water to the sySteni to maintain the desired temperature to produce the most economical and best results. As the engine is a heat engine in which very high teinperatures are produced it is obvious that the higher the temperatures oi' the cylinder walls. within reason. the inoeteeonomical results can he produced.` hut in practice it has been found that there is a practical limit to the temperature o' the cooling nicdium` with water this is a temperature juet lilelow the hoiliupr point. or about W0@ l?. for the reason that il) the unter hecoines inuch hotter than. this` stcanl is produced which tends to accumulate around the cylinders and pre vent the liquid wading;- niediunl flowing over the surraces.

lt is obvious` that as l udniit cold water i'reni the :diction puuip it will eccome min-- gled with the other :iter in the system asu it passes thru the, indd-ating pump el and the Water jacket or the one" nu aud :is tinquantity uhich l thus afl-:l is rriatiwly mailh it will not eool unix` une pari. o the eylinder too niuch. lt is also ohrous i t as i adniit water the level oi the unter in the stand pipe 7 will be raised and as the oren-[hp` pipe it is connected to the highest poilu ot' the sysicnu only hot water will dou' out ot the Merlino, nl die ipiuutiij; it ifl water which is thus extracted i'roin the sys teu: will ile in exact inferirduuec with the quantity o cold water whirl! l add.

lihv adjusting; the valve iT l have full and complete control p' the temperature of the Water in the rirrulating; s xsteiu.

It is to he understood that the pipes ll, iti and lh are connoeted to a radiate?v for automobile practice. di large huilt of water may he provided instead oi a radiator or instead ol being connected with the water overheard.

As many lnodiiications ot my invention will readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, l do not limit or confine my invention to the specific structures or steps herein shown and described.

l claim:

l. ln a cooling systcni l'or niariue internal Combustion engines, a pump driven hy the engine for circulating a quantity ot cooling water proportional to the speed ot' the cngine in a complete circuit` another punip also driven by the engine l'or inlet-ing cold water into the circuit ot the lirst pulnp in quanti ties proportional to the speed of the engine overliow connections for complete cir-- Cuit, and :idjustahle hy--pass meansr for predetermining' the ratio ol' the effective capacities of the pumpe.

ln a niarine engine or pmpellingg u boat, an internal combustion cylinder haring a Water jacket. surroundiup?r the saule, in take and discharge ports lor said iat-liet, discharge pipe connected to said discharge port, an intake pipe connected to said intuitie port. a standpipe connectiiu;l said disch-ar r and intake pipes. said pipes l'oiniinc; a closy i nornheat radiating circuit tor cir plating;4 :l substantially closed column ol' unterihr-oud"` said jacket, said circuit having a non-roulin f function and heilig adapted to eireulate predetermined quantity oi water from the discharge port of said jacket to said inlet pipe at substantially the temperature oi' discharge from said jacket, a pump driven by said engine and connected in said inlet pipe i'or creating a forced circulation through said circuit, second pump driven b v said engine `for continuously injecting a small quantity ci? relatively cold water into said circuit, said pump discharging into said inlet pipe and being adapted to inject cold water into said pipe during all periods in the normal operation of the engine, the intake port oi said second pump being adapted to have connection through the hull of the vessel With the surrounding body of water, a by-pass pipe connected to the discharge end of said second pump, a regulating valve for controlling the rate oi' injection into said. circuit and the ini-pass flow through said bypass pipe, and an overflow pipe connecting .vith said stand pipe at a level higher than the level oi said di 'cl'iurge pipe, said overflow pipe being adapted lo continuously discliarge a predetermined quantity of hot Water outside ot the hull of said vessel.

In a cooling systen'i lor marine internal combustion engines, a pump driven by the engine for circulating a quantity of cooling 'water proportional to the speed of the engine in a complete circuit, another pump also driven h v the engine for injecting cold Water into the circuit of the first pump in quantities proportional to the speed of the engine, overilow connections for said coinplete circuit, and manually adjustable hypass means for predetermining the ratio of the eiective capacities of the pumps.

4. In a cooling system for marine internal combustion engines, a pump driven by the engine or circulating a quantity oi cooling Water proportional to the speed of the engine in a complete circuit, another pump also driven by the engine for injecting cold Water into the circuit of the irst pump in quantities proportional to the speed of the engine, and an overflow connection ior said complete circuit.

5. In a cooling system for marine internai combustion engines, two engine driven pumps, one of said pumps operating to circulate cooling water through a complete cin cuit including the engine, the other pump operating to take in Water through the hul? of the vessel and discharge it again outside of the hull of the vessel, and a threcewuj; valve interconnecting the circuits of said pumps, said valve being manually adjust able to predetermine the ratio in which said two pumps supply cooling water to the cn-v gine.

In Witness whereof I hereunto suhscrili my name this lst day of August, A. D. 1915- DON COLE. 

